DENVER – Gofire Inc. is calling on the commercial vaporization industry to cease the use of any and all additives in cartridge products, calling them unnecessary, a threat to consumer health and safety and a stain on an industry that should be focused on health and wellness.
The call to action comes on the heels of an ongoing national health crisis that has seen more than 1,300 vaporization device users fall ill to a mysterious lung disease with as many as 27 fatalities nationwide. As the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other researchers work to determine the exact cause of the illness, a focus on additives like Vitamin E Acetate, Propylene Glycol and others has emerged as a prime concern. In addition, other factors like heavy metal leaching, product contamination and manufacturing processes – both regulated and black market – are facing scrutiny.
“As we wait for conclusive results from the ongoing medical investigations, one thing is abundantly clear: There is no use for dangerous additives in any vaporization products,” said Gofire CEO Peter Calfee. “While other contributing factors to this terrible illness may be uncovered, it is plainly irresponsible for the industry to continue the use of additives that we know can be harmful and are unnecessary. We know this about additives right now. The time to stop using them is right now.”
Calfee has been sounding the alarm on the danger of additives from the day Gofire was founded, he said. It’s a primary reason the company has taken nearly five years and millions of dollars in research and development to create its patented Gofire Inhaler and Gofire SmartCartridge. Calfee said the response to this health crisis will determine how the industry is perceived for years, and perhaps decades, to come.
“As responsible corporate citizens, and conscientious human beings, we cannot sit on our hands and wait for this to play out, hoping not to be implicated,” he said. “The time for this industry to lead has arrived. By inaction, we are all implicated. While many in the industry are stepping up on this issue, we’re calling on everyone to follow this lead by refusing to use additives in products, and to identify other ways to improve safety measures in products.”
In addition to ending the use of additives, Gofire is calling for the industry to take other actions that fortify patient health and elevate the industry, including:
- Research and insist on quality: Do the hard work of finding better ways to deliver plant-based medicine. This is not easy or inexpensive. But critical research and development must be concluded prior to any product reaching consumers to ensure safety. Presume customers and patients are willing to pay a little extra to ensure their health and safety.
- Hold each other accountable: Seek out, and then call out, the practices that create the health hazards posed by questionable oils and hardware. Don’t sell inferior product on retail shelves. Don’t use cheap materials or cutting agents in manufacturing processes. Find the right hardware that can match the quality of product.
Gofire’s pulmonary drug delivery platform eliminates the conditions currently being investigated for health-damaging effects. The technology in the Gofire Inhaler utilizes true convection vaporization, not conduction or combustion, to ensure only pure medicine vapor is inhaled and no carcinogens are produced. Gofire’s technology physically extrudes the medicine from the cartridge through a thermal barrier and into a separate convection oven for vaporization. This eliminates the common practice of re-heating the oil with each inhale, which causes degradation of the medicine and can allow harmful compounds to contaminate the oil. Gofire SmartCartridges were developed with safety in mind, and are molded from Class 6 pharmaceutical-grade, FDA approved BPA-free polymers, abolishing concerns about heavy metals leaching into the medicine. As a condition for filling its cartridges, Gofire requires that partners abstain from using any outside excipients, including Vitamin E Acetate, Propylene Glycol and others — and Gofire SmartCartridges were designed to work with even the most viscous oils so that no filling additives are necessary.
About Gofire
Gofire is a healthcare technology company developing a proprietary smart inhaler that pairs with a personal dosing app to allow patients to create consistent experiences with plant-based medicines. With the support of anonymized crowdsourced data, Gofire users find products best suited to their specific needs based on recommendations from the Gofire community, helping to remove the fear of taking too much. Gofire is committed to making health resources safe and accessible through standardizing dose regimens and helping people realize the medicinal and therapeutic benefits of alternative health products through a new take on wellness innovation.
